Updates, advisories and surprises

(4:48 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- L-Brands, Inc.
LB, +4.03%
citing a 3% gain in same-store sales at its Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works specialty chains, reported late Wednesday its second-quarter profit rose to $188.4 million, or 63 a share, from $178.9 million, or 61 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue for the three months ended Aug. 2 rose to $2.68 billion from $2.52 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report earnings of 62 cents a share on $2.68 billion in sales. L-Brands lifted its fiscal full-year earnings outlook to $3.03 to $3.18 a share from $3 to $3.15 earlier. Analysts had been predicting the company would earn $3.17 a share for the full year. L-Brand shares slipped 0.4% to $62.70 in after-hours trade.

H-P profit falls, but sales rise

(4:15 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Hewlett-Packard
HPQ, +0.15%
on Wednesday reported a fiscal third-quarter profit of $985 million, or 52 cents a share, compared with a profit of $1.39 billion, or 71 cents a share, for the year-earlier period. Revenue edged higher to $27.6 billion from $27.2 billion. Adjusted profit was 89 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet on average were expecting the Palo Alto, Calif.-based technology company to report a profit of 89 cents a share, on revenue of $27.04 billion. H-P shares were down a fraction after hours.

International Rectifier agrees to buyout by Infineon, shares soar

(12:37 PM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of International Rectifier
IRF, +125.00%
soared 47% to a seven-year high in midday trade Wednesday, after the maker of power-management products announced an agreement to be acquired by Germany's Infineon Technologies in a deal valued at about $3 billion. As part of the buyout agreement, Infineon will pay $40 for each International Rectifier share. The target company said it was discontinuing its share buyback program. Earlier, Bloomberg News had reported that Infineon was nearing a deal to buy a U.S.-based semiconductor maker for $2 billion. Separately, International Rectifier reported fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 30 cents, up from 27 cents in the year-earlier period, and above the FactSet consensus EPS estimate of 24 cents. Sales rose 10.5% from last year to $297.6 million, topping expectations of $288.6 million. At just above $39, the stock was trading at the highest level seen since July 2007.

(8:20 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of teen apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters Inc.
AEO, +1.42%
surged 8% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the company blew past profit and sales estimates for the second quarter. The company said it earned $5.81 million, or 3 cents a share, in the quarter, down from $19.59 million, or 10 cents a share a year ago, but ahead of the FactSet consensus of breakeven. Revenue totaled $710.6 million, down from $727.3 million and compared with the FactSet consensus of $690 million. Same-store sales fell 7% in the quarter, after a decline of the same magnitude a year ago. "Although the second quarter results were slightly ahead of our expectations, they do not reflect our potential," Interim Chief Executive Jan Schottenstein said in a statement. The company cleared spring and summer merchandise and has entered the second half in a "good inventory position," he said. The company is expecting third-quarter per-share earnings of 17 cents to 19 cents he said, compared with a current consensus of 18 cents. Shares have shed 19.5% of their value in the year to date, compared with a 7.2% gain for the S&P 500.

JA Solar shares slide after profit falls short of estimates

(7:38 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- JA Solar shares
JASO, +0.40%
fell 4.4% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the company missed profit estimates for the second quarter. The Shanghai-based maker of solar products said it had net income of 40.1 million renminbi, or $6.5 million, after a loss of $21.3 million in the same period a year ago. Earnings per ADS came to 10 cents, or 14 cents on an adjusted basis, below the FactSet consensus of 21 cents. Revenue totaled $390.5 million, up 52.9% from a year ago and ahead of the FactSet consensus of $380 million. Chief Executive Baofang Jin said the company expects to sustain its growth and profitability in the second half, "due to accelerating activity in China, and continued favorable product and geographic mix.". JA Solar is now expecting full-year shipments in the range of 2.9 gigawatts to 3.1 gigawatts, he said. Shares are up 8.9% in the year to date, compared with a 7.2% gain for the S&P 500.

J.M. Smucker misses profit expectations, lowers sales outlook

(7:21 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- J.M. Smucker
SJM, +0.48%
reported early Wednesday fiscal first-quarter profit of $116 million, or $1.14 a share, down from $126.6 millionm, or $1.19 a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted profit was $1.34 a share, missing the average analyst estimate compiled by FactSet of $1.37 a share. The company, which brands include Folgers coffee, Jif peanut butter and Smucker's fruit spreads, said sales declined 2% from last year to $1.32 billion, just shy of analyst forecasts of $1.37 billion, as its U.S. retail coffee and consumer foods businesses suffered sales declines. The company cut its full-year sales outlook to "a rate slightly less than the 5% provided at the beginning of the year," but affirmed its adjusted earnings-per-share outlook of $5.95 to $6.05. The stock was still inactive in premarket trade. It closed Tuesday with a year-to-date loss of 0.2%, compared with a 7.2% gain in the S&P 500.

Staples earnings fall 20%, sees taking pretax charge

(6:32 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Office-supplies retailer Staples Inc. [s:spls] said Wednesday second-quarter net earnings were $81.9 million, or 13 cents a share, compared with $102.5 million, or 16 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings were 12 cents a share, and sales fell to $5.22 billion from $5.32 billion, in the most recent period. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 12 cents a share on sales of $5.16 billion. Staples forecast third-quarter adjusted earnings of 34 cents to 39 cents a share, excluding any potential impact on per-share earnings from restructuring and related activities. The company expects to take a pretax charge of $40 million to $75 million in the third quarter stemming from restructuring.

Lowe's lowers sales-growth outlook for 2014

(6:28 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Lowe's Companies Inc.
LOW, -0.06%
on Wednesday lowered its outlook for sales growth in fiscal 2014, saying it now expects total sales to grow by 4.5%, down from 5% estimated previously. The forecast adjustment came as part of the home-improvement retailer's second-quarter earnings report, where it reported a 10% increase in profit to $1.04 billion from $951 million in the same quarter last year. Earnings jumped 18% to $1.04 a share from 88 cents a share, partly due to a reduction in the number of shares outstanding. Sales came in at $16.6 billion, up from $15.7 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected earnings of $1.02 a share on revenue of $16.6 billion. Lowe's shares dropped 3.9% in premarket trade.

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